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Update from Ireland on

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2. Key Areas Context
Early childhood education and care
School – primary and post-primary
Partnership and engagement
School choice in Ireland
Data collection

3. Context in Ireland Rapidly changing – migration trends, economy, future?
Migrants in Ireland have a different profile to many other countries
Most adults have upper secondary education – may not be in employment commensurate with qualifications
Few second generation migrants
Approx 10% primary and post primary principals noted that nearly all their students have sustained academic difficulties (ESRI)
PISA ( 2006) – very small immigrant sample (few second generation) – indicative findings + ESRI (2009) – national survey (www.esri.ie)
Students enrolled in urban and disadvantaged schools but also in schools throughout the country
Less 2% schools have over 50% migrant students in primary
Average of 2- 9 % migrant students in post-primary education
Approx 70% migrant students do not speak English as their first language on arrival
Concept of critical period hypothesis theory for EAL students in post-primary – age of arrival is critical
Communicative, discrete language skills and academic language proficiency
(Cummins, 2009)

4. Early Childhood Education and Care in Ireland Primary education starts from 4 years
New universal pre-school year for 3 to 4 year olds from Jan 2010 – OECD welcomes initiative
Importance of quality pre/ early school experiences
Need to ensure migrant children participate
Staff have CPD on
diversity
catering for migrant children/ language stimulation – in host and mother tongue
social integration and cohesion
All parents are involved – need for effective communication strategy that includes migrant parents

5. School – Primary and Post- Primary Teaching is choice of high performers
160 nationalities and 160+ languages
English as Additional Language Teachers
Few migrant teachers
Budget constraints from 2009/2010
Majority of EAL students receive two year support – should be based on their identified English language needs
NCCA’s Intercultural Guidelines – advocate a whole school approach
AFL – Assessment toolkits – to guide teachers
“AIM” – Accessing Intercultural Materials Portal
Qualifications for EAL teachers
Research on a north / south basis recommended – area of common interest

7. Partnership and Engagement Parents
Information should be easily accessible
May lack knowledge of host country’s education system, of language of instruction and other supports
Cultural differences may hinder their involvement with schools
Encouraging participation in parents councils (at school and national level), in school life
needs proactive personal efforts by school personnel
Immigrant and host communities
Provide mother tongue or English language classes
Liaise with families and service providers
Act as mentors
Home School Community Liaison Scheme – limited service, co-ordinators need CPD on diversity
Other school / home links

8. School choice in Ireland Historical context for primary and post-primary schools
Governance challenges in Ireland in 21st Century – concept of patron bodies – live issue
Inspectorate oversees the quality of teaching and learning
80% schools take all students ( ESRI, 2009)
Schools should evaluate their admissions policies so that they are inclusive and reflect the diversity within their community
Lack of accessible information and community networks may affect informed school choice by parents
Need for enrolment data to be analysed

9. Data collection for evaluation and feedback AFL – assessment toolkit, tests, state examinations
How well do migrant students perform compared to their Irish peers?
Adapting teaching practice to reflect needs of diverse student profile
Are interventions effective?
Involvement of all teachers, not just EAL teachers
Support of school leaders
CPD in AFL
Lack of data specific to migrants / data protection legislation
Inspectorate’s whole school and EAL evaluations
Promote and support improvement
ESRI – Adapting to Diversity: Irish schools and newcomer students, 2009 (www.esri.ie)
Value for Money Review of EAL expenditure
PISA etc have enlarged newcomer samples into the future
Evaluate policy on evidenced based data